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7/17/2024
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New laws will simplify state payments to East Providence
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STATE HOUSE — Two new laws sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Boylan and Sens. Robert Britto and Pamela J. Lauria and supported by the rest of the East Providence delegation will streamline the payment schedule of state reimbursement to East Providence to improve city cash flows and reduce borrowing costs.
“Aligning these payments with the schedule all other communities follow is the right thing to do. It will assist the city of East Providence and especially our school department with its budgeting and cash flow throughout the year, saving us all both time and money,” said Representative Boylan (D-Dist. 66, Barrington, East Providence).
The first piece of legislation (2024-H 7543, 2024-S 2565), which was sponsored by Representative Boylan and Senator Lauria, changes the funding schedule from the Rhode Island Department of Education to the City of East Providence from twice a year to monthly, which will bring it in line with the funding schedule of the other cities and towns and simplify cash flow planning for the city.
The legislation was cosponsored by Majority Whip Katherine S. Kazarian (D-Dist. 63, East Providence, Pawtucket) and Reps. Matthew S. Dawson (D-Dist. 65, East Providence) and Brianna E. Henries (D-Dist. 64, East Providence, Pawtucket), Senate Majority Whip Valarie Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence) and Senator Britto (D-Dist. 18, East Providence, Pawtucket).
“East Providence schools have managed capably under the burdens of this unique reimbursement schedule but they shouldn’t have to,” said Senator Lauria (D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol, East Providence). “These changes will make running the department easier and more cost effective for the schools and our taxpayers.”
The second piece of legislation (2024-H 8226, 2024-S 2854), which was sponsored by Representative Boylan and Senator Britto, will put East Providence on the same payment schedule as the other cities and towns for the quarterly car tax phase-out payments. Currently East Providence begins receiving these payments in October, while the other cities and towns receive them starting in August. With the passage of this legislation, East Providence will also receive these payments starting in August.
“These are simple fixes with big impacts,” said Senator Britto. “I was happy to work with the City of East Providence and my colleagues in the General Assembly to standardize the schedule of state payments to East Providence, a move that is essential and overdue.”
This legislation was also cosponsored by Whip Kazarian and Representatives Dawson and Henries.
“I am very grateful to our delegation of legislators in the General Assembly who met with my team and officials from our school department to develop these important pieces of legislation to benefit East Providence taxpayers,” said Mayor Bob DaSilva of East Providence. “By getting our state funding distribution on a more advantageous and equitable schedule, the city will need to do less tax anticipation borrowing which will save taxpayers money on interest payments.”
The two pieces of legislation, which were recently signed into law, were requested by the City of East Providence and supported by town resolutions.
The uneven payment schedule for these two important forms of state reimbursement, which was unique to East Providence among Rhode Island municipalities, caused administrative headaches and forced the city to borrow additional funds to bridge cash flows, increasing the amount of interest incurred by the city and its taxpayers.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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